Villager in China uses grenade to crack open walnuts for 25 years

The man saw that his walnut cracker looked similar to a grenade pictured on a leaflet warning about forbidden explosives.

PHOTO: Weibo

BEIJING - A hand grenade was used to crack walnuts for 25 years by a villager in China who had no idea what he was using until he saw a photo of a grenade on a leaflet handed out by local police.

The man from Ankang, in China's Shaanxi province, saw that his walnut cracker looked similar to a grenade pictured on a leaflet warning about forbidden explosives, according to Huanqiu.com.

According to villagers, the man used the grenade specifically to crack open the nuts.

According to reports, the man had been using the grenade without realising what it was for some 25 years, said Britain's Mail Online on Dec 21.

It had been given to him by a friend.

Images taken on Dec 5 (2016) show the device.

Police found that the grenade had not detonated and they were unsure if the device had explosives inside it, the Mail said.

It was only when the man was handed a police leaflet that he realised that he possessed a forbidden explosive.

Grenades usually explode when the safety lever is released and the object is thrown away. As it rotates, it detonates the primer and ignites the fuse before burning down to the detonator, said the Mail.

People have been commenting on social media site Weibo about the man's lucky escape.

One user wrote: "Why would a friend gift him a bomb?"

Another said: "It's more stable than a Samsung phone."

This article was first published on December 23, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.